LSG, KKR look for revival after absymal start to season

Team slogans have a habit of backfiring spectacularly if things don't go your way. LSG went with a very optimistic "Ab apni baari hai (It's our turn now)", placing it on stadium poles and posters. Tattered by four straight losses, and ninth on the table, their pursuit has become a far-fetched dream.

Standing opposite is a team in worse health. Still bottom-placed, KKR finally found the comfort of a win vs RR after five losses and a washout. The week-long gap must be a welcome relief.

LSG have found robust home support - last match's crowd was 42,000-strong - but they haven't repaid their fans yet. They lost the last four home games in 2025. This year, they've added three more. Justin Langer called their losing streak "really frustrating" for both the team and fans.

On the surface, batting has been LSG's biggest letdown. Playing without a fourth overseas player, they've switched around the lineup without much in return. Ayush Badoni, who opened just twice before in T20 cricket, is now their preferred opener. Nicholas Pooran, their spin-hunter from last season, has an abysmal strike-rate of 82 to show from seven innings. The odd sparks aside, their batting has just not clicked collectively.

Having to dig deep into their bowling resources, KKR have just not been able to clutch key moments. They've lost in the final over three times, including the last-ball finish in their thrilling game against LSG earlier. A win in the last game is at least a starting point to escape from the tenth spot. Varun Chakaravarthy and Rinku Singh, their two Indian pillars, have finally found form. And yes, Matheesha Pathirana is finally here.

What to expect: The previous game was played on a red-soil pitch which Langer likened to the WACA. This game, though, will be played on a black-soil pitch, which could see more runs and assistance for spinners, unlike the surface the other day, where new-ball quicks found sharp bounce.

Injuries/Unavailabilities: Josh Inglis, married a few days ago, could join the squad at some point next week. Mayank Yadav, termed "fit and firing" by Aiden Markram, finally earned a spot last game, only to conceded 56 runs. With Avesh Khan also having been expensive, it remains to be seen if they retain him.

LSG skipped training two days before the game, and had a low-key session the night before, with only a select few batters turning up. Rishabh Pant, who usually spends plenty of time reading the pitch, wasn't around to train.

Tactics and matchups:Unlike their batting woes, LSG's bowling attack has been the best of the lot in Powerplays (14 wickets at 23.6, economy 7.85). LSG's dot ball-percentage of 49.6 is the best among all sides in the Powerplay. That's a strong advantage on paper over KKR's openers (144 runs at 20.6), who have the worst aggregate among all teams. Watch out for Mohammed Shami vs Ajinkya Rahane: the batter has played nearly ten overs of him without being dismissed, striking at 168.

After weeks of anticipation, Matheesha Pathirana has finally linked up with the squad, and is up for selection. The evening before, he was seen bowling inch-perfect yorkers to Rinku Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. It remains to be seen how he fits into the XI: KKR could potentially switch out Tim Seifert or Rovman Powell and consider dropping an Indian seamer for an additional middle-order batter like Manish Pandey.

A fully fit and back-in-form Varun Chakaravarthy would be a crucial boost for KKR, especially to tie down Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran. In all T20s, Pant averages 10.3 against Chakaravarthy, striking at 103.3. Oh, and he's also dismissed Aiden Markram six times.

Crucially, Varun did not bowl in their Eden thriller when Mukul Choudhary went berserk. Mukul's pace versus spin strike-rate so far is (157.14 vs 128.57). They might want to keep an extra over of spin if he's in earlier.

"Look, I think everyone at the moment knows that probably our batting is a little bit short (of) where it needs to be and no more than the players themselves. But I can assure there's every kind of work, conversations and guys working hard in the net to overcome that. We feel we are one match away from smashing it where we need to be and all the batters are quality players in each one of them" - Carl Crowe, LSG spin-bowling coach

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